Hello All!

It has been such a long time since I blogged. I tell ya, once wedding season hit last year I was busy busy busy which is such a blessing. Wedding season ended for me just in time for Christmas (12/21/13) and started right back up last weekend! Not much of a break but a well rested one. 

As you all know I am not a creature of habit so keeping up with the blog was not something I was prepared to do. It also didn't help that my lap top when to lap top heaven. Also, I wanted to make sure to focus on my family when I wasn't working. I feel like the computer and my cell phone were becoming too much of a distraction while adding to my busy schedule. The break from the computer was needed but Ill admit it was a little too long of a break. So hopefully starting in 2014 I will be consistent but not consumed with all this blogging and phone related.

I ordered a new day planner for 2014 so maybe that will keep this little non creature of habit on track! It should be here next week and I am so excited. I prefer to write things down in a planner versus putting them in my phone. I feel when I write them down I retain the information much better. How about you all? Do you do everything on your phone or do you have a day planner too? Ill let you know what I think about it once it arrives from Nashville. Sadly we do not have a store that carries these in Louisville but I have a great Louis Vuitton consultant in Nashville at their free standing store who takes good care of me!

I also ordered a new wallet so I should be organized beyond belief!

 I am very excited. 

I had a gift card from September and I just now used it. Louis Vuitton may not be everyones favorite but I love their products. They last forever and take the beating I give them. I live in my Louis Vuitton. I use it daily and year after year it hold up. Mostly I have to save or wait for a holiday to be able to get a piece for my collection but I know when I purchase an item (like a wallet or day planner) I never have to buy another one for years (and years and years and years)

Well that's about all for now. Ill try to do better going forward. I think 2014 is going to be a great year and I hope I can make this blog great too! 

In the meantime make sure to check out my other sites and videos!

 

 

 

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Have a Beautiful Day

-A

Next week will mark the "greatest 2 minutes in sports" and for my hometown its the greatest 2 weeks in the city.

The Kentucky Derby

This is where one of the largest fireworks shows in the world kicks off the two week festival to celebrate the greatest race on earth. 

Growing up for most of my life here in Louisville I never understood why all the grander surrounding The Kentucky Derby. But I guess I was on the inside looking out and not the other way around. As I got older I learned to appreciate and respect The Kentucky Derby and what it meant to the history of my hometown. I also fell in loved with the style that surrounded The Derby. For one day out of the year here in Louisville anyone and everyone can and SHOULD wear a great hat, a pretty dress, or a pastel suit. 

The Kentucky Derby is everywhere right now. I am always in awe of how much appreciation it gets from around the world and from some of my favorite designers which I have showcased below. Enjoy!

How adorable is this dress and hat? I just love everything about it! It's fresh, bright, and sophisticated. 

The dress is form the talented Anne M. Cramer and the hat is from Marley Lilly

For more details on this outfit go check out the amazing Ashley Brooke at Ashley Brooke Designs

(photo by Gregory Daniel. photo from ashley brooke designs blog. visit them for all the info)

I absolutely LOVE Mary Beth Designs. Everything she creates is just so beautiful, whimsical, girly, and southern all wrapped up into one. She has so many awesome things to choose from. First you choose the item you want to buy, whether it be a platter or a pillow case, then you choose your design and monogram...Because monograms make everything better! Here is her beautiful Derby design. I can't get enough, it's so pretty!

(all photos are from Mary Beth Goodwin Designs on her Pinterest. 

Please contact Mary Beth for more information or to order.)

Now Let talk Derby Makeup!

Let the dress and hat speak for itself. Don't over do it with the makeup. The Derby tend to be a long day and it warm. Don't let your makeup have to hold on for dear life. Keep it light and simple with the skin and the eyes and be sure to wear sunscreen. Play the lips up. If there is ever a place to get away with bright lips it's in the south and Derby is the perfect time. Wear a great Red, Orange, or Pink. Get a long wearing lip color so you don't have o worry about it smudging or wearing off. I love MAC's Prolongwear lip color and Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics LipTars 

Keiko Lynn pretty much sums up the looks that would be great for Derby. I love her blog and her style. I'm sure you've run across her all over Pinterest and whatnot. She is pretty adorable!

So if you are going to The Derby, a Derby party, or just want to dress up like you are then I hope you find this post inspirational. And don't just use The Derby as a reason to get all dolled up in dress and a hat, in my book, it's welcomed any day of the year!

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-A

I feel old and out of the loop!

Today I decided to make a collage of my favorite past MAC collections for "throw back Thursday" on Instagram.

(my Instagram)

Well when I start digging for pictures I realized all the collections that I loved so much were between 5-10years old. 

How did this happen? *Pretend you didn't hear this* but I still have the makeup from these collections and I use them! (please don't judge, I've never had any issues but if you choose to use older makeup, use at your own risk)

I haven't kept up with ALL of the new collections that have come out in the last 4 years or so because I don't work for MAC anymore. There are a few that stick out in my head and of course I still swoon over certain collections but I can honestly say I have become a lot more reserved in my purchases.

Today I also realized how many collections I haven't even paid attention to over the last few years and while digging around on the good ol web for images I had this familiar feeling slowly creep back into my artistic shopaholic heart with a voice whispering to me:

 *I don't remember this collection, ooo it looks pretty, how could I have missed this, maybe I should go on eBay and see if I can torture myself to try and find pieces from this collection, I have to have this now, oh no what have I done I need this!*

The further I dive into google images the louder the voice gets! I need to suppress it!

So while I'm yearning after these new collections I realize I cant find many images of the collection I do know and love and didn't miss out on. 

-INSTANTLY FELT OLD-

It's not often that Google can't help me! Even Specktra.net was filing away all the 'good ol' collections so deep that I couldn't find them anymore. I quickly felt even older when I realized "live journal" was just about the only thing around when these collections were born. These are pre-facebook days people! 

I thought to myself "surely there is someone out there that loves these collections just like me. Surely they have archived them somewhere! SURELY!"

Then.....sure enough, I found my new hero! I found someone who cared enough to hold on to what has made MAC....MAC!

INTRODUCING

http://colorstorycollections.blogspot.com

Thank you Linda for your hard work and dedication on preserving MAC collections are beautifully as you do! 

As I scrolled ALL THE WAY BACK to 2000! (yes she has archived that many years!) I reminisced over the "good ol" days (when I was a young fresh faced wanna be makeup artist swooning over new collections at my local MAC counter and hanging on to the every word of the talented artists who "little did I know-could only dream" would be my co-workers one day!) I fell back in love. The shopaholic hoarder subsided in me and the artist came out. I then felt appreciation for the fact that I remembered these collections, the collections that built MAC into what it is today. When 'lustre' lipsticks were new, when Viva Glam was just a baby. There is this new generation (who know more about recent items than I do) that has no idea that THIS is what made MAC-MAC. I was reminiscing over the births of the classics again and I loved it. I didn't feel so prehistoric anymore but felt more tenured and appreciative that I remembered and I was present during those times. 

I don't need to scour through eBay to find collections that are a couple of years old and try to backtrack and collect them. I may not know every more recent collection but that's OK. I can go to Linda's site and sell ALL of them. Besides, it will take far less time and research for me to fall in love with the "post-facebook" "post-social networking" collections. 

I don't mind if I feel a *little* older when people ask me "what collection is that from" or "Ive never heard of that" or "Ive never seen this, where did you get it" (and then I tell them the lipstick is 10 years old!:) More than anything, I feel lucky! I guess this is what getting older is all about? People mark their age and knowledge with many different things, mine just happens to be MAC color stories. 

(Here is the collage I made. Photo credit is below. Aren't they beautiful?)

Again, thank you Linda for making this blog. I appreciate so very much!

You all go check her out and look to see how MAC has evolved as a brand, with their products, and most of all visually! (that was my favorite thing to see on her blog.) It is laid out very well and is super organized! 

If you all have any questions about the collections above please feel free to ask in the comments section!

*Photo above credit to MAC Cosmetics and some images borrowed from Linda*

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Have a Beautiful Day!

-A

I didn't disappear

 (See it's ME!)

Well OK I did but there is good reason

My computer is broken which obviously makes it very hard to write blog post and edit videos.

I have also had some personal issues that are taking up a lot of my time. Nothing to be concerned with but sometimes in life you just end up having a lot on your plate and you're needed in multiple places at once. These things have recently required me to post less, be present for people in my life more, and still do makeup (which is in full wedding swing!)

I am not quitting the blog or the videos I just want to make sure the quality is good and I am able to fulfill your requests with the quality you deserve. 

I have the longest list of things I want to write about and review and I can't wait to share it all with you. 

Even though the computer is broken that doesn't mean I haven't stopped buying makeup to share with you all!

In the meantime I would encourage you to check out my Instagram because that is obviously easier to share quick tidbits and products on, like the looks and products seen below:

My Instagram name is aevansmakeupartist

Thank you all so much for your understanding 

Ill see you soon with all the fun stuff I love to share with you!

In the meantime come follow me on Instagram and as always

Have a Beautiful Day!

-A

Hello Everyone!

I have a new video up that reviews all of my February Favorites!

I am so excited to share them with you!

The reviews include:

ELF Cosmetics- I love this brand.  Their products start out at $1. Can you believe that? I like to order online becuase they have a much better color selection than in the store and they always have sales going on! Make sure to check them out and sign up for emails!

Rimmel- This was my first time buying anything from Rimmel. I got some lipsticks which I have swatched for you. I am really impressed with these! The texture and color payoff would be similar to Amplified Cremes by MAC. Check out the swatches below!

Hope that picture is big enough! HaHa. I just wanted you all to be able to see the color!

 

Loreal Miracle Blur is another one of my favorites. All the info is in the video!

 

Dior AirFlash Foundation Review is also in the video along with another one of my NEW favorite foundaitons so make sure you check that out!

 

Then Im taking it back old school with a few little surprises and much more!

 

 

Thanks for watching the video and enjoy!

 

 

 

Check out my other sites

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Have a Beautiful Day!

-A



 

 





So I recently helped throw a shower for a dear friend of mine. It is her second baby but her first was a girl and she is having a boy this time. I wanted to help throw her a shower for a few reasons.

 

 

1. I love her.

2. I love the cupcake baking in her belly.

3. I love to throw a good party.

4. It's an excuse to get crafty and put some Pinterest pins to use!

5. Every baby is special and deserves a little something in their infant honor!

 

Some people don't believe in second showers but OH WELL! Like I said, every baby is special and deserves to be recognized! Now I don't think this means you have to go register and have this huge party like you do for the first but something small is always nice. So that's what we did. I little Sunday brunch for baby A!

I had so much fun making some of the things for this party! I just wanted to share a few with you!

The Tablescape

 

The Cake

It's all in the details

The invite I made from scratch

 

 

Handmade wreath for his nursery door

Ill have a blog/tutorial on this soon

We used this as a part of the decor for the shower. This wreath served two purposes!

Gotta love that!

 

 

The table with the party favors

Cake stands can be used for more than just cake :)

Handmade shea butter and olive oil soaps.

Ill have a blog/tutorial on how to make these soon!

 

Handmade Banner which will also go in his nursery

Yummo! The Food!

I got these adorable cups from Marshalls for super cheap. They were an awesome way to hold the fruit. I added height by placing then on a cake stand.

 

 

These mason jar utensils holders turned out so cute.

I just used some ribbon from the wreath and taped it

(make sure the tape isn't visible) to the silver ring

Then I used tiny clothes pins and wrote little notes on...

get ready for this...paint swatches I got from Walmart

and used my 2" hole punch to make them look like tags!

 

The Drink Station

 

Yarn Pom Poms (Ill have a tutorial on this soon too)

Those vases are toilet paper and paper towel rolls wrapped in ribbon (with tape)

I like to use tape because then you can reuse the ribbon!

And who doesn't like paper straws?

You can order these from Etsy but I found these at Marshalls.

 

 

Since there are so many crafty things at this baby shower I decided to just post the details of the decor but will have separate blog posts to show you how to make the things you see here. If I did it all in this blog it would be longer than "Gone with the Wind" So look for the tutorials soon!

 

I hope you enjoyed seeing what I have been so busy working on! That is why I didn't have a blog up in a while. I was crafting! I can't wait to share with you all the tutorials on these things!

 

In the meantime make sure to check out my other sites and videos!

 

 

 

FACEBOOK

SIMPLY MAKEUP

 

PINTEREST

 

INSTAGRAM

 

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Thank you for stopping by

Have a Beautiful Day

-A

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hey Everyone

 

I had a request to quickly go over how to clean your makeup brushes.

I love when you all request things because I have so many things I want to talk about and make videos about and I don't even know where to begin. So when you all have special requests I don't have to decide. I do what I know you all want to see :)

I went ahead and made a video for it because it is to much easier to understand visually versus me typing it all out!

If you have any questions just let me know!

Before: Dirty Brushes

After: Clean Brushes

 

A close up to show you that I dry them over the side of the tub

 

{The Video}

 

 

 

 

 

 

Check out my other sites

 

Click, Follow,Share,Subscribe!

All those fun things!

 

FACEBOOK

SIMPLY MAKEUP

PINTEREST

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Have a Beautiful Day!

-A